


Hypothetically

by RedLaces



Series: Lovely Little Ficlets: Life coaches [7]
Category: Nothing Much to Do
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 07:39:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3479858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedLaces/pseuds/RedLaces
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“John,” She finally responded, looking at him. “I’ve had these for months now, sitting under my bed, and I finally have enough nerve to do something about them, tonight. I’m doing this, with or without you.”</p><p>“Well,” He was still transfixed on the work. “If that’s the case,” He looked at her, finally, a glint in his eye. “I guess we’re doing this.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hypothetically

**Author's Note:**

> Yes this is late. So late there's no point in an excuse, right? This was written (and posted on Tumblr) a while back, and in hindsight I feel that that Bea could have been painted in a better light. However this is Hero's perspective, which in the aftermath of her relationship with Claudio (the one that exists in this fic, which is much less traumatic than the canon one) is very pessimistic.

“Hey, who do you have for English?” Hero looked up from her homework as her cousin entered the kitchen.

“Uh, Miss Gutierrez?” She put her pen down and watched as her cousin put the kettle on and reach for the mugs on the top shelf. “Why do you ask?”

“I was hoping you might have the same teacher as me so we could talk shit about her.”

Hero flinched. “That’s mean.” She chided, setting her pen down and leaning over the table to stretch.

Bea’s face deadpanned. “Mrs Caliendo?”

Her cousin grimaced. “Okay, fine. I’ll give you that.”

“She’s the absolute worst!” Bea burst, setting her mug down on the counter and reaching for the container of tea bags. “She’s the most misogynistic, contradicting, racist, ableist, homophobic, arrogant asshole I’ve ever had the absolute displeasure of meeting” She dropped the bag into her purple, polka-dotted mug “and honestly she must have gotten tenure in the sixties because there is no way anyone in the last forty years would think twice about firing her.”

The kettle beeped twice, and Bea tipped water into her mug, sloshing a little around the mug.

Hero jerked her chin out and looked up through her lashes at her cousin. After a moment of silence Bea looked over curiously, saw the face and rolled her eyes. “Words, Hero, use words.” She reached and grabbed another mug, gave it a tea bag and filled it with water.

“Milk please!” Hero grinned.

“I know what I’m doing.” Bea stepped to the fridge, grabbing the milk bottle and twisting off the lid. She poured milk into both her purple mug and Hero’s amber one, twice as much going into Hero’s than hers.

“Thank you.” Hero said sweetly, shrugged her shoulders as her cousin handed her the hot mug.

“Can I rave about Caliendouche now?”

Hero leaned back, taking a sip of her tea and smiling. “Rave away.”

“Thank you, so we were reading Pride and Prejudice in class the other day, and we’d gotten to the part where Elizabeth gets word of Lydia and Wickham’s runaway…”  
Bea continued recounting her story for some twenty minutes, Hero interjecting every couple of sentences to either take Bea’s side or on the occasion Caliendo’s (She was drowned out almost immediately, but she didn’t mind), until finally Bea ran out of steam. And tea. For the third time.

“I’m sorry,” She apologized wearily. “I’m just, I don’t know, I think I’m having a tough time with school.”

Hero nodded, immediately getting up, walking around the island bench and giving her cousin a welcomed hug.

“That sucks.” Hero replied. When Bea let go Hero took her mug from her and put the kettle on again. Fourth cup of tea in an hour. This wasn’t shaping up to be a productive afternoon. Hero didn’t mind though. She only had fifteen minutes left of homework to do. She’d been hoping to start brainstorming ideas for her still life oil painting, but that was due in two weeks and this was more important.

Bea had taken Hero’s seat, gently dropping her cousin’s pen into the textbook, folding it neatly and sliding it towards the fruitbowl near the window. She fold her arms on the table, one hand flat atop the other, and lay her head into the crook of her elbow. “I’m the new kid, and, ah, hypothetically, let’s say that doesn’t really work with my personality, you know? I have to always be right, and when I’m not, part of me, hypothetically, shuts down. I’m so incapable of learning new things it’s a mystery how I managed to get this idea that I know everything into my head in the first place.”

Hero turned her head to Bea from the pantry, where she was retrieving a tupperware container of triple chocolate mini-muffins. Her expression was almost alarmed. How quickly Bea had turned the bat of her words to beat herself.

“Hypothetically?”

“Hypothetically.”

“Bea, please don’t talk like that.” Hero put down the container and crossed to the bench side of the kitchen nook. She stroked her cousin’s hair and smiled at her. “None of what you’re saying is true and you know that. Don't beat yourself up. Please don’t talk yourself into believing it. You’re too persuasive. Don’t use your powers for evil.”

Bea smiled and laughed gently at that, and Hero took that as her cue to continue talking. “Having trouble fitting in is not a new concept, but everyone has their own way of getting past it. You’ve just gotta find yours.” The kettle beeped, and Hero went back to tea-making. “And knowing you, it’s probably going to be witty, loud and talked about for years to come.”

Bea sat up. “Thank you. I think I need to hear that.” She smiled, still a little ashamed at her small sliver of vulnerability, but overall she looked calmer.

“So,” She brought her voice back to normal volume, indicating a change of subject. “How’s school going for you? All two months of it?”

“Um,” Hero fetched the milk and finished their tea. “It’s been good.” She laughed slightly. “Really good, actually. I think my grades are improving. Which is awesome. Plus, ah,”

Hero couldn’t help the proud grin that spread across her face as she looked through her lashes at her cousin. “Mrs Richardson has put my photography up for an island-wide scholastic competition.”

“What!?” Bea gaped. “Oh my God, Hero that’s amazing! When?”

“When was I put in the competition? Or when was I nominated as one of the top five entries?” Hero raised her eyebrows.

Bea gasped. “Hero!” She ran around the table and tackled her cousin into a hug much more excited than the first. “This is amazing!” She pulled back, he hands still on hero’s shoulders. “How are we going to celebrate? When do they announce that you won?”

“I haven’t won anything yet.” Hero reminded her. “And they announce the winner in about a month.”

“You’ve definitely won, I can tell.” Bea nodded purposefully.

“You haven’t even seen the photos!” Hero laughed.

“Show me, show me! I’m sure they’re perfect, just like you.” She grinned.

Hero’s smile faltered ever so slightly as that word hit her like a ton of bricks. Perfect.

It never sat well with her, but especially since it was Claudio’s number one way of describing her. She also noticed that he would never go into detail. She was just-  
heavy sigh, glazed over expression, - Perfect

“Um, yeah, they’re not-” Hero tried to explain, but Bea was already heading over to Hero’s computer, which sat at the dining table. “They’re not really my usual aesthetic.”

“What do you mean?” Bea responded automatically, clearly not focusing on the conversation but rather the desktop she’d pulled up. Without really asking. At all.

Hero grit her teeth. “They’re not on there.”

“Mmmhmm.” Bea continued to study the screen. Hero waited.

“Oh, right!” Bea spun around finally. “Well, where are they?”

Hero paused for a second, considering the consequences about what she was saying. “Um, I don’t want to show them to you.” she let the words fall out of her mouth, bracing for what would follow.

“Oh, uh, okay. Why?” Bea immediately crossed her arms over her chest.

“You can see them if I win!” Hero immediately tried to bandage the situation. “I just, if they don’t-”

“Ah, I get it.” Bea smiled, letting her arms drop.

“You do?” Hero trod carefully.

“Of course! Hero the perfectionist. You shouldn’t worry so much about what other people think!” Bea patted her on the shoulder. “I have to go skype Pedro, we’ve gotta organize study for a physics test that’s coming up, but I’ll be making dinner tonight.” She walked off.

Hero bit her lip. Perfectionist. Was that her? Did everyone see her as perfect because that’s what she allowed them to see? Briefly she went through her mental filing cabinet, focusing on her art, on what she’d shown and what she had kept to herself. She stopped on a couple of stencils she’d made over the summer in the days directly following her break-up with Claudio but proceeding her meeting John.

No. She couldn’t.

But maybe-

She’d always wanted to. Really. She’d seen some of it. Online. On the streets. There were a couple that really, really tempted her. But she couldn’t.

Not her. Not Hero.

She was almost untangled from the idea when she sat down to switch her computer off and saw that she had a facebook notification. She clicked on it and was brought to Claudio’s page. Immediately she panicked, thinking he might of, out of spite, posted something secret, something she’d shared with him. She couldn’t really remember sharing anything with him though. She furrowed her eyebrows, reading the post.  
  
 _Volunteering at Auckland City Hospital was the best decision I’ve made in a long time. What they say is true, helping others WILL help yourself. Thank you, ACH, for helping me._  
  
She couldn’t help but smile gently. There was the Claudio she liked, been friends with, the one she’d projected a love story onto. Good for him, really. But she couldn’t see why it was- oh.

Her gaze had travelled to the comments.

_Good on you, mate! All the best to everyone at ACH and may we all be inspired by your strength and persistence! - Ben Hobbes_

_Yeah, good on you, dude! Let that bitch **Hero Duke** know what she’s missing! Her loss motherfucker! Maybe she’ll finally sprout some brains! Little Miss Perfect finally slipped up in losing a catch like you! - Dominic Tresson_  
  
Hero wasn’t so much offended, or horrified, as she was baffled. Who the fuck was this guy? She’d never heard of him in her entire life. How could he possibly hate her like that? She shouldn’t have cared, and she really wouldn’t have, if it weren’t for that word again.

Perfect.  
  
 _“Hi, you’ve reached the Donaldson residence, to whom am I speaking?”_

_“You’re not answering your phone.”_

_“No I am not. Because it is out of charge.”_

_“Are you free tonight?”_

_“Um, I think so, why?”_

_“We’re going out.”_

_“Why such short notice?”_

_“I only decided on this half an hour ago and I’m going to pussy out if we don’t do it tonight.”_

_“Oh, don’t use that word please.”_

_“I know, the minute it was out of my mouth I knew it was gross. First and last time. I promise.”_

_“What are we doing, Hero?”_

_“...I can’t say over the phone.”_

_“In that case, no way.”_

_“You’ll like it, I promise!”_

_“I’m not trekking the whole way over to your house at eight o’clock without knowing the reason.”_

_“Fine. Is anyone listening in to this conversation?”_

_“No, I don’t think Daniel’s quite reached the point of tapping my phone calls.”_

_“Alright, here’s what we’re doing.”_  
  
The doorbell rang, and Hero opened the door before the first ring finished. “C’mon, we don’t have much time.” She turned immediately and powerwalked down the hall and up the stairs.

“Hero, Hero!” John called, running after her when she didn’t respond. “Dear god,” He muttered, ascending the stairs two at a time.

“Hero, I’m only here to stop you. This is a terrible idea, okay?” He closed the door to her room after himself. “It’s pointless, it’s unsatisfying. Trust me, I’ve done it before. you’re not gonna feel any joy when you look back at it and quite frankly, it’s just plain dangerous.” He kept talking, but she wasn’t paying attention to him, but rather to a huge piece of plastic that lay across her bed.

“Woah,”His attention was immediately grasped by this simple yet hugely complex object. He also noticed a similar piece of plastic sat under it. “that is not what I had in mind.”  
He stared at it, taking in it’s appearance and translating it to reality if Hero and he were to carry out what she was thinking. It would be amazing. It really would. But were they willing to risk the consequences of something going wrong? of getting caught?

“John,” She finally responded, looking at him. “I’ve had these for months now, sitting under my bed, and I finally have enough nerve to do something about them, tonight. I’m doing this, with or without you.”

“Well,” He was still transfixed on the work. “If that’s the case,” He looked at her, finally, a glint in his eye. “I guess we’re doing this.”  
  



End file.
